The wagon pulled by birds sped away. Tasha and Tinaquarrier sat opposite to Weed. Other than the open disgust they showed for him in the beginning there seemed to be no other reaction. Weed quietly stared out the window, as he saw buildings flash by, the wagon seemed to be moving further and further away from the main city and into the outskirts. The most distinguishable feature between the two regions was the walled enclosure of the main city and the water rocks.
The outskirts were sparsely populated and very dark. The buildings grew fewer were soon replaced by only pillars. Signs of reckless mining were visible everywhere. Weed stared in the darkness with great curiosity. An hour later, the wagon continued speeding away with no signs of slowing down.
“How far is it?” Weed asked suspiciously, with his fears of being kidnapped deepening.
“We are already there.” Grunted Tasha as he looked very uncomfortable to break the silence.
Weed stared back out, all he could see was pitch black now. Where am I?
“They used to be known as the Grand Northern Mines hundreds of years ago. Now, its just vast lands of emptiness. Our ancestors dug it out till the earth bled dry. It really is nothingness, for over a thousand miles.” Tasha added to reassure Weed.
“Then the Forbidden Mines is the new name for the Grand Northern Mines?” Weed asked hoping to strike a conversation.
“Yes. Greed is the enemy of the heart and mind. Our ancestors failed to understand. The Grand Northern City used to be located entirely on just one floor. Now these mines have been claimed by enemies. They forced us to dig deep and dig high, confined us to no more than a few leagues away from the city’s wall.”
Tinaquarrier raised his hand; enough had been spoken about the bitter past. The wagon drew to a sudden stop. The doors opened and in front stood two stout dwarves holding spears. They resembled the guards Weed had seen earlier when entering the hole near the eastern mountain face.
“Aren’t these the same guards?” Weed asked.
Tasha and Tinaquarrier ignored Weed.
As Weed stepped out of the carriage he noticed a huge fort set up. There were soldiers everywhere. At least twenty guards were moving along side Weed and the dwarves acting as shields. The sense of danger was high; Weed could only wonder what or who the enemy was.
“Miners never come this deep, so soldiers protect us with their lives.” Tasha added seeing Weed’s apprehension. “The enemy know what we are coming after, so they aim to take the lives of the miners first, it is the swiftest way for them to decide victory.”
“Is that what happened to Tullia’s husband?” Weed asked.
Tasha froze in his steps he had no idea they had been overheard. Tinaquarrier grabbed Weed by the collar and pushed him against the wall. “I knew elves had big ears, I didn’t know they were this big.” He dug his arm into Weed’s neck, choking him as he said the last few words.
“He died of a mine collapse. Hear me elf? You never saw any of this.” Tinaquarrier added menacingly.
Weed barely could nod his head before Tinaquarrier let his collar go.
“Whats his problem?” Weed asked Tasha as Tinaquarrier walked inside the fort.
“Weed-nim, Tullia is Tinaquarrier sister. He just lost his brother in law. Other than that, I guess the old man didn’t tell you but this entire operation is a secret. Mining in the forbidden mines has been outlawed. Why do you think they are called forbidden?” Tasha asked with a smile.
“Because they are dangerous?” Weed replied as he straightened his attire.
Tasha chuckled, “Weed-nim, the dwarven profession mining is dangerous. Yet, we miners breath and live for it. It’s called forbidden for being outlawed, to stop our recklessness.”
As Weed walked into the fort, he could see soldiers everywhere. Some held spears, others hammers and shields. Everyone was clad heavily even inside the fort. The walls were covered with sentry guards, blue flaming torches were lit along the wall. Sandbags were piled randomly across the floor, with marks of dried blood.
“What happened here?” Weed whispered to Tasha.
“We were ambushed two nights ago.”
“Who is the enemy?” Weed asked as he tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle.
“…” Tasha ignored the question; he couldn’t believe there was someone foolish to volunteer to mine without knowing the risks involved.
A soldier stood in front of Weed, presenting him armor.
“For me?” Weed asked.
The soldier nodded indicating a yes.
As Weed grabbed it, he struggled to hold it up. “Tooo heav heavy…” He said he collapsed under its weight.
The dwarves broke out into laughter, amidst all the bloodshed and violence, seeing an elf struggle to lift simple armor was hilarious. It just went on to prove that dwarves were the more superior race.
As Weed begged for help, a large shadow hovered over Weed. A dwarf larger than all others, lifted the armor with his two fingers.
“So even the most basic is too heavy eh?” He said.
The soldiers at once stopped laughing and stood in attention and saluted the dwarf. Clearly, he was their supervisor.
“The name is Thunderous Nigel of the East or that’s what the King called me. I go by Nigel.” Said the huge dwarf as he passed his massive hand to Weed to help him get up.
“Weed.”
“Well Weed, I see you your not only Cristo’s friend but also Balkan’s candidate.”
“…”
“Now there are three rules you must adhere to while you are here.”
“….”
“Rule number One, Never ever travel outside the fort without guards. The last idiot who Kendelbreu sent died this morning. Arrogant lad, I must say. He was a delight with his hands but too ambitious.”
‘So that makes me the only candidate here?’ Weed wondered.
“Rule number Two! Never ever ever, do anything on your own. Death is for the curious and ambitious. If you have any ambitions leave it at home.”
“…”
“Last Rule. Rule number three! Always listen to your supervisor when faced with a situation that doesn’t fit rule number one or two. You are a dwarven soldier this moment forth before a miner. That means my rules are absolute as law, breaking them means risking death. Get me?”
Weed nodded, he had no idea what he got himself into. ‘A soldier before a miner? What is this boot camp?’
“Any questions, Weed?” Nigel asked.
“When do we begin?” Weed asked meekly.
“Right now. Your team is ready.” Nigel said point to a group of dwarves sitting behind him.
There six dwarves in the group of which two Weed already knew; Tasha and Tinaquarrier.
Tasha introduced everyone to Weed.
“Sarkaan, foreman. Masin, sniffer. Dol’arc and Yaluk rope masters. Narre and Tinaquarrier miners and I am ace of the crew.”
Weed politely greeted each of them politely, however he incited no response. Talking to an elf was a taboo, working with one? The crew didn’t even want to begin ranking this in terms of disgust. Weed didn’t mind, he was already sick of the whole dwarf hate elf race discrimination.
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“So whats a foreman? Sniffer and rope master? And ace?” Weed whispered.
Unfortunately, everyone heard him. Some of the crew started cursing in their local dialect. “Great we get the idiot who also happens to be an elf.”
Tasha sighed as he picked up small stones lying on the ground.
“See here elf.” Tasha said with a change of tone, as he placed a stone on the ground. “First you need to sniff out the ore or ruby. Hence, the sniffer. You need rope masters, to help you get around dangerous canyons, gorges etc. You need miners to mine without damaging the ore or the cave, otherwise it will collapse on everyone. Miners have the most important job, since everyone’s lives depends on it. Lastly, you need a foreman, to coordinate everything between everyone. He is the captain of the crew. Lastly there is the ace, he is the most useless person on the team, he is jack of all trades but specializes in none. In case we lose someone, he can quickly substitute them so that the group can go on or isn’t stuck anywhere. Aces aren’t needed in a team, but if a mine is classified above a certain danger threshold a team must contain one or more aces. Do you have any questions for me?”
“So does a sniffer sniff out the ore?” Weed asked jokingly.
“Yes.” Tasha replied with all seriousness. There were no lies in his words.
“You are serious?”
“…”
“How does he know what it smells like?” Weed asked when he didn’t get a reply.
“The old man found the black diamond. However, as he tried to extract it, the cave gave in. In the end the old man was only able to bring back small traces of black diamond dust. The only proof of the fabled stone in existence.”
With the end of that explanation, they started to prepare to go into the mines.
“Hey elf, do you have all your supplies ready?” asked the foreman of the crew, Sarkaan asked.
“Yes sir! I packed the shovel, pickaxe, ropes and my food supplies” replied Weed, “I also have a map of the mines.”
Now the whole crew was astonished! A map of the Forbidden Mines!?! That was a very valuable item that was extremely rare to come across!
“Don’t lie to us, elf!” Sarkaan said.
“How can you, an elf, possess a map of one of the most dangerous mines in this city, when not even dwarves can get a hand on it?”
“I received it from Kendelbreu.” Weed replied. He didn’t know that the name would have a ripple effect.
The dwarves’ eyes grew wide. Kendelbreu was once known to be the one of the richest dwarves in all of Versailles! He had a knack of discovering the most of most profitable mines in the city. He was known to guard his secrets and rarely talked to anyone. Ever since his disastrous exploration into the Forbidden Mines, he had kept quiet about his experience inside. He now worked as a mine recruiter for the benefactor funding these mining operations. Many a times, was he coaxed into revealing details about the mine, but he never let a detail slip. What happened in those mines 20 years ago remained a secret to this very date.
“Tasha is he telling the truth?”
Tasha and Tinaquarrier nodded, both of them had witnessed it in the wagon. They never expected the old man to open up to anyone, much less an elf. The dwarves now regarded the elf in a new light. Not only had he gotten a map of the most dangerous mine in the Northern mountain range, he probably also saved their lives by doing so! With this map, the dwarves could safely navigate through the mines and look for the black diamond.
“Hmmm, we have misjudged you elf” Sarkaan said, “You are now a highly valued member of our crew. However, know this; you have the lives of this crew in your hands. Whether or not we die will depend on how accurate this map is. Also before you think of running off with the diamond and abandoning us, remember this, I will personally search for you till the ends of Versailles and kill you a hundred times.” He whispered the last bit audible only to Weed.
After saying this, Sarkaan reintroduced Weed to the crew. The crew regarded him with newfound respect and greeted him like one of their own.
“My name is Yaluk. Nice to meet you.” said a young dwarf with red hair.
“I’m Masin. Good to have you with us, elf” The smallest dwarf in height, compared to other crew members. In fact Weed considered him to be the dwarf of dwarves.
“You can call me Dol’arc.” Said the dwarf, wearing an eye patch.
“I’m called Narre.” Said the female dwarf miner. She was fairly young and too pretty to be a dwarf. Weed could only wonder if she really was a dwarf.
TRRRINGG!
-Relationship with dwarves: +10
Weed only had one word in his head, Hypocrites. Just like reality, where people shun you for being different but then cuddle next to you if you possess something valuable in their eyes. As unreal as this game was, it stirred very real emotions. Lee Jun too had encountered such people many times before behind their smiles were concealed lies. As he considered whether or not to tear up the map, he received a nudge on the shoulder.
“Don’t mind them Weed.” Said Tasha, “They mean you no harm.”
Weed hadn’t realized his emotions were visible to everyone. Smiling and quickly loading his supplies into the armored wagon, Weed took a window seat to have an excuse to be alone. With this, the crew boarded wagons accompanied by foot soldiers. They started making their way to the entrance of the labyrinth of caves as indicated on the map.
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Authors Note:
1. Will be edited soon.
2. Thank you so much Nithink for volunteering to co-author.
3. Thank you V4lkyr13 for doing a zing check on it.
4. Ok officially giving up on trying to maintain self control. I'll publish them as I write them. Good luck keeping up with my writing.
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Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?YesNo
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